Apparatus for transferring freight



Oct. 6, 1931. B F. F11-CH 1,825,786

APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING FREIGHT Filed Oct. 27. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l M l -i /KK 4 l/ '5 z: 21-1 15 lo 1L 2z u, ....10 4l 44+] L42 [l l 4 Y D g 1 gmwm a@ @fi/,0: W@ Wd/! Oct. 6, 1931. B. F'. FITCH 1,825,786-

I APPARATUS FQR TRANSFERRING FREIGHT Filed oct. 27, 192s -2 sheets-sheer 2 l al 24 2l 44 22 22 :F IG .d 5

gnoemtoz @M51 (MM W2/wg Patented Dot. 6, 1931 Unire@ sra-rss images rarest ortica BENJAMN F. FITCH, OFGREENWICH, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO MOTOR TERMINAIIS i COMPANY, OF WILMINGTGN, DELAVJARE, A CORPRATIOJ OF DELAWARE APPARATUS non rnensrnnnins FREIGHT Appiication inea vroctober 27,r i928. serial no. 315,448.

:lo mechanism is essential in removing or replacing the loaded container. Itis an object of this invention to provide such hoist- -ing and transporting mechanism in a very simple and efficient form, 'suitable yfor in stallation at comparatively small expense.

My invention is moie particularly con cerned with the transfer of containers to and e from freight cars of electric iiiterurban lines having overhead trolley Wires. The invenfo tion con; 'templates a superstructure located adjacenf he side of the railway'track andf 'f overhead trackWay on Which is a havingv traveling; rane which may raise and transaort la,"

container, so that the crane may transport the body laterally.

lvloreparticularly, I propose in this invensc tion to carry that portion of the trolley Wire Whichvis at the transfer point by a laterally shiftable carriage mounted on the vsuperstructure. This carriage is normally in position directly above the track and carries the trolley v other, thus clearing the space for the lateral movement of the cables depending from the crane. Such an apparatus is illustrated in thev drawings hereof, and is her inafter more fully explained The 'essential novel fea' tures of the invention are summarized `inthe claims. Y. i L A In the drawings, Fig. 1 is an elevation transversely of an electric railway track and tvvo side superstructures, and an overhead Y crane trackway; Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation 7 lly -a removable body, associated or shifting the'trolley Wire out of the crane cables suspending the plane indicated by the line 2 2 on 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan of such installation, the roof being omitted; Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic elevation illustrating the relation of the reinovable container, the trolley Wire carriage and the traveling crane; Fig. 5 is a detail in vertical section adjacent one end ofthe continuous trolley Wire.

As shown in Figs. 1,2, 3, A represents an electric railway track, B the usual suspended trolley Wire therefor, and C an electricilat car adapted to travel on such rails byelectric power. rIhis flat car may have a cab @and a Itrolley pole c. D indicates the removable body, which may be mounted on the flat car in l' the rear` of the cab. This body is preferably of such size that it may also readily lit on an automobile truck (as indicated at E in Fig. 1)

vso that the body may be interchanged as de# Thel` sired between the truck and -liat car. Y body may be provided with suitable doorsd, and at the eves With hooks or eyes CZ or other means for attachment of raising cables. l

In F igs. l, 2 and 3, I have shown superstructures located opposite each other on both sides of the rtrack and connected by a bridge, thus providing a continuous overhead support for the crane and trolley Wire carriage. Such superstructure has upright posts 10, suitable cross beams 11 and tie members l2. It carries a pair of crane tracks 15 bridging across the railway track space. These tracks are shown as mounted on brackets 16 carried by the posts-10.

Thetracks 15 carry a suitable crane 2O having four raisingcables 21 terminating at their lower ends in hooks or eyes. Mounted on the crane frame is a suitable mechanism for pulling up these cables as a unit. rIlie'mechanism shown comprises a rotatable sci-ew 2e' (Fig. 3), a travel nutA 25`tlicreon, and guide bars 2G for the nut. The cables 21 pass upwardly oversheaves 27 aiidthence arouiidsheaves 28 and 29, land arenally anchored to the nut 25. Accordingly, the rotation of the 'screw operates to simultaneously raise or lower all four ofthe lift hooks. The .screw may be rotated by any suitable means, as for .instance thereof at right .angles to Fig. 1, being on a lpower from the trolley circuit. The crane preferably has also a motor 3l geared with one of the supporting wheels 32, whereby the crane may be shifted along its track. v

Normally' the raisingr cables and lift hooks are located a considerable distance above the line of the trolley Wire B and entirely out of the way of the electric car and the trolley pole. Accordingly, the car may run freely )ast the transfer structure. It is desirable owever, that the trolley wire be normally continued through the structure either in the form of the Wire or an inverted trough, so that the car may run continuously without attention to the trolley pole, when the hoist mechanism is not in use.

However, to use the hoist mechanism to' raise a body and shift it laterally to or from the car, it is necessary to provide some means whereby the trolley wire will not interfere with the supporting cables. To accomplish this, I terminate the trolley wire proper adjacent the two ends ofthe superstrncture, and support the free ends by suitable guides (Fig. 5), and I mount the intermediate scction of the trolley wire on a traveling carriage which may be located directly over the railroad track or may be shifted laterally to carry the wire to idle position. leaving an open gap for operation of the raising cables. Such construction will now be described.

0n the supporting posts 10, I secure suitable brackets 40 which carry tracks ill bridging the railroad trackway, and on these tracks I mount a light carriage which supports an intermediate section 43 of the trolley wire by brackets 44 or otherwise. This section is shown as an inverted trough adapted to be engaged by the flanges of the trolley wheel, but if desired, itcould be a wire or bar engaging in the groove of the trolley Wheel. The section 43 is adapted to align with the permanent trolley wires B, shown in Fi 2 and 5, and thus make a continuous guiding member for the trolley wheel as the car runs past the transfer structure. The carriage is normally locked in this central position, as

for instance by a suitable latch bolt 475 l) thereon, coacting with the trackway. lVhen it is desired to use the crane, it is only necessary to manually unlock the carriage 42 from its central position and shove it to one side or the other as illustrated in broken lines in Fig. 1.

The intermediate trolley wire section 43 may be connected electrically with the trolley wire by a suitable conductor so that substantially continuous current is provided to the car motor, or the section may be dead and momentum relied on to carry the trolley car through the hoist structure.

In ordinary operation of the construction described, the trolley carriage 42 stands in the mid position as shown in Fig. l and the electric car operates in a normal manner wit-bout regard to the transfer apparatus. T he crane at this time stands in any lateral position with the cables elevated out of the way. Now, when it is desired to use the transfer mechanism, the trolley car with its body is brought into position beneath the crane track-- way as shown in Fig. 2, the trolley 'arriagc is unlocked and shifted out of the way toward the opposite side from that to which the load is to be transferred. The crane is -brought over the body and the cables lowered eration from that described will transfer a body from the support or truck onto the electric fiat car, whereby it may be transported.

I claim l. In a freight transferriiigr apparatus, the combination of a crane trackway .spanning an` open space, a crane adapted to move on said trackway and having a depending cable, a carriage trackway spanning such space, a larriage movable on its trackway, trolley wires leading from opposite directions to points adjacent the transferring apparatus, and a trolley guide adapted to align with the two sections of the trolley wire and supported by said carriage, said cable being adapted to pass through the normal position of the trolley wheel guide.

2. In an apparatus for transferring freight, the combination with a railway track, of a supporting structure alongside of the track, a trackway on said structure, a. traveliniT crane on such trackway and having a depending cable, a. trolley carriage mounted on the structure and movable independently of the traveling crane, and a trolley wheel guide carried by said carriage, said cable being adapted to pass through the normal position of the trolley wheel guide.

3. In an apparatus for transferring freight, the combination with a railway track, of a supporting structure alongside of the track, two trackways on said structure` one higher than the other, a traveling crane on the upper trackway and having a depending cable, a carriage on the lower tracki 'ay, and a trolley wheel guide on the carriage adapted to register with trolley wires at either end of the structure, said cable being adapted to pass through the normal position of the trolley wheel guide.

4. In an apparat-us for transferring freight, the combination with a railway track having a trolley wire above it, of supportingstructurcs on opposite sides of the track connected by a bridge above the track, two trackways on said structures and bridge, one higher than the other, a traveling crane on the upper trackway and having a depending cable, a carriage on the lower trackway, and a trolley wheel guide on the carriage, said Vcable being adapted to pass through the normal position of the trolley wheel guide.

5. The combination of a railway track, of supporting structures on opposite sides thereof, a trackway carried by said structures and bridging across the space above the railway track, a traveling crane on such trackway equipped with raising mechanism adapted to engage a removable body on a car on the track, laterally traveling means for -supporting a trolley wheel guide in registration with trolley wires below the crane trackway, said means being movable'independently of the crane to either sidel to clear the way for the trolleying operation of the traveling crane.

6. An apparatus for transferring freight, comprising the combination with an electric railway having a track and an overheady trolley wire, an overhead crane adapted to raise a body from a car on the track, and an overhead carriage independent of the crane carrying a trolley-wheel-guide, such carriage being shiftable laterally to leave an unobstructed space for the shifting of the supporting cables depending from the crane.

7. The combination with a railway track, a. trolley wire above it, of a structure alongside ofthe track having a crane trackway extending above the railway track, a crane movable along said trackway, a raising cable depending from said crane and adapted to be connected to a removable body on an electric car below the crane, and means mounted on an independent track and movable independently' of the crane for shifting a section of the trolley wheel guide out of the way to enable the hoist cable to be shifted laterally.

8. In an apparatus for transferring removable bodies to or from electric cars, the combination of a railway track on which the cars may run, a trolley wire above said track, a pair of structures opposite each other and kon opposite sides of the track, and connected together above the plane of the trolley wire, a transverse trackway on said structures bridging the space above the railway track, a traveling crane on such bridging track having hoisting mechanism and four depending cables adapted to be lowered to engage a removablev body on the railway car, there being space within the structure on either side of the railway track for receivingor depositing a removable body, a second transverse track bridging the space above the railway track, a carriage on said second track, a trolley guide carried by the carriage and adapted to register with the trolley wire to make a continuous path for the trolley wheel from one end of the structure to the other, said carriage Vbeing shiftable laterally to either side of the railway track independently of the traveling crane.

9. In an vapparatus for transferring freight to or from electric cars, the combination of a railway track and a trolley wire above it, a structure along side of the track,

hoist mechanism mounted on said structure and adapted to be moved over the track and engage a movable body on a car on the track, the two sections of the trolley wire at opposite ends of the structure being interrupted, a trolley wheel guide between such interrupted ends adapted to register therewith, and a bodily movable carriage supporting said trolley wheel guide for permitting movement of said guide laterally independently of the hoist mechanism.v

10. The combination with a railway track and a trolleywire above it, of supporting structures at opposite sides thereof carrying a bridge over the railway track, hoisting mechanism carried by such combined structure and adapted to be moved from either side to a position above the track, and a bodily movable wheeled carriage laterally shiftable below the hoist mechanism and relative to it for carrying a trolley wheel guide adapted to align with the trolley wire'or be out of alignment therewith. Y

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aiiix my signature.

BENJAMIN F. FITCH. 

